


two feet apart and miles between

by rarmaster



Series: my mario fics have a continuity i swear [1]
Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Paper Mario - Fandom
Genre: 2k fixing that, Gen, and so you write, mario has a horrible time!!! sorry mario!!!!!, no editing no betas we die like men, that's his brother and his brother doesn't recognize him!!!!!!!! he's upset!!!!, you ever get mad that canon just like pretends they can't recognize Mr. L
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22843408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: “Is that…?” Bowser begins.“It can’t be…” Peach says, but she doesn’t sound sure.“Hmm?” Tippi asks, not understanding.“L- Luigi?” Mario whispers, taking a step towards his brother.
Relationships: Mario & Luigi - Relationship, Mario & Peach & Bowser
Series: my mario fics have a continuity i swear [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172918
Comments: 11
Kudos: 204





	two feet apart and miles between

**Author's Note:**

> well like the tags say i was thinking about super paper mario tonight and i was like WAHT is the POINT if none of them actually realize it's luigi, and also it's unrealistic of super paper mario to imply that they CAN'T recognize luigi, so here's an AU, a fixit fic, whatever, in which they do realize
> 
> (i understand why canon puts off the reveal of his identity for so long, but let me play in this space in peace)

So, following a kid through a maze in the middle of _space_ is not exactly the strangest or most frustrating thing Mario has done, but having Bowser for a traveling companion alone is enough to try Mario’s patience near the point of breaking. He… _trusts_ Bowser alright, he guesses—it’s not like they _haven’t_ traveled together before, because they did, back… oh, forever ago, when Smithy’s Gang was threatening the Mushroom Kingdom and the rest of the world. But as much as Mario trusts Bowser, Bowser has absolutely no patience for this maze, or for their guide ( _a kid named Squirps_ ), or for anything, really! Peach reached her limit hours ago, and Mario is about to hit his.

Thankfully Squirps says they’re almost, _almost_ there. (“ _That would be the fifth time you’ve said that today, I hope you mean it this time,” Bowser whines, and honestly for someone who Has A Kid, you’d think he’d have more patience—even_ if _Squirps is a little more high-energy than Junior is._ ) “Next room over, it should be!” Squirps insists, and…

“Hey, nice job leading me here, kid! You’ve done a great job!” comes a voice, from somewhere to behind Mario, and

Hold on.

_Hold on._

“Awww, thanks Mister—uh? Who said that?” Squirps says, looking wildly around as they realize that none of their traveling companions had spoken. “Is something wrong?” they add, realizing that their traveling companions have all stopped frozen in shock.

“Is that…?” Bowser begins.

“It can’t be…” Peach says, but she doesn’t sound sure.

“Hmm?” Tippi asks, not understanding.

And Mario?

Mario stands, silent, unable to do anything other than believe his eyes but still not understanding what he is seeing.

“L- Luigi?” he whispers, taking a step towards his brother.

And that _is_ his brother. It has to be! Sure, the mask over his eyes is new, and the overalls are black, but the hat’s still green and that face, that mustache… That’s Luigi. That can’t _not_ be Luigi! Relief sings like a song in Mario’s chest, because he was _worried_ about his brother, worried about what had happened to him, but here he is, he’s okay!!

“Luigi, where have you been?” Mario asks, delighted, making to cross the distance between him and his brother. Peach slides out of his way ( _confused, suspicious, but not about to deny Mario of this_ ) and even Bowser keeps his mouth shut. “I was so worried—”

“ _Quiet!_ ” Luigi spits, and

Mario stops.

He has never, ever in his life, heard Luigi sound so angry, so _hateful._ But there’s a snarl on Luigi’s lips that doesn’t belong there, and weight knotted in his shoulders that’s wrong wrong wrong.

“The name’s _Mr. L,_ ” Luigi continues, sharp, before anyone can say anything else. “I’m the Green Thunder! One of Count Bleck’s more _promising_ minions! One _really cool guy_!” He does a spin and strikes a pose and it would be funny or endearing if only Mario understood what the _heck_ was going on. But that smile is too sharp to sit properly on Luigi’s face, and he holds himself in all the ways Luigi doesn’t, because Luigi’s confidence looks like tightened shoulders and clenched fists, not swagger and gusto.

“L… Luigi…” Mario says, taking another step slowly forward, but flinches back immediately at the _look_ Luigi gives him. He didn’t know his little brother could possibly _hold_ that much hate. ( _Maybe… for Fawful? But thinking about their battles against Fawful only brings to mind anger on Luigi’s face, not_ hatred, _not like_ this.)

Peach, apparently, has had enough of this. “Hey, Luigi, come on,” she says, and she steps forward. She doesn’t flinch at all when Luigi turns that horrible expression on her, instead. “This really isn’t the time for games! If you want to help us find the Pure Heart, then by all means—”

“Hey, lady, _back off_!” Luigi shouts, swiping his hand through the air. “If anyone’s going to find the Pure Heart, it’s _just me,_ and _not you,_ because _I’m_ going to take it back and impress the Count! And would it kill you to use my _actual name?_ ”

“You could at least use _mine,_ ” Peach snaps back, unphased.

“Hold on, did he just say Count like, that Count Bleck guy—” Bowser begins, but goes unheard.

“I have no idea who you are!!!” Luigi screams, and Mario stops breathing.

Peach, at least, recovers quickly. “What do you mean you have no idea who I am?” she asks, and despite her quick recovery there is an underlying note of hurt and fear in her voice. “It’s me, Peach? Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom? We’ve been friends for—”

“Not ringing any bells,” Luigi interjects.

“What,” Peach says, but gets lost about there.

“You don’t recognize _me_?” Bowser tries.

“Big shouty turtle guy?” Luigi says, and shrugs, like he absolutely couldn’t care less. “Nah, don’t think so.”

“What about Mario?” Peach asks, gesturing towards him. ( _Mario is grateful she asked, because honestly he’s not sure he could get his voice to work if he tried, right now._ ) “Surely you remember _Mario!_ ”

Luigi considers his brother for about a second. “Nnnnnope!” he declares, popping the ‘p’ sound, and it’s such a Luigi move it _hurts_ despite how everything else about this is wrong.

“How can you not remember your own brother!!” Peach demands.

“Brother?” Tippi repeats, like she’s suddenly understood something about this situation.

However, whatever patience Luigi had for this has been used up, because at Peach’s words he snarls again, stomps his foot once, then points dramatically at them all. “Oh, can it, the lot of you!” he says. “Like I said, the only thing that matters here is me and that Pure Heart I’ve got a date with. If I don’t bring it back to the Count, the rest of the minions aren’t going to let me hear the end of it!”

“Mario’s brother or no, we _can’t_ let you take the Pure Heart,” Tippi says, reminding everyone else what they’re here for, what they’re doing. “Not if you’re just going to give it to Count Bleck.”

“Then we’ll just have to battle over it,” Luigi concludes, like it’s that easy. “Have at you!”

Mario’s stomach buries itself somewhere in his toes.

Peach slides between Mario and Luigi, parasol held up above her so Luigi lands his jump on that and bounces right off. “Mario!” she says. “Keep Squirps out of danger!”

Right. Yes. Yeah, he can do that.

Mario swivels to find Squirps as Peach and Bowser— _he really doesn’t want to think about that_ —and after locating the child he runs across the maze-turned-battlefield ( _don’t think about that, either!!_ ) and scoops Squirps up and deposits them both well out of the way.

“Hey, Mr. Mario, are you okay??” Squirps asks, high and nervous.

Still not sure he wants to try talking right now, Mario nods and gives Squirps a thumbs-up. His smile is probably not as convincing as it could be, but can you blame him, when behind him— _don’t think about it_ —and he has to listen to— _don’t think about it, don’t think about it._ He has to think about it for a little bit because somewhere in this mess Luigi _calls a giant robot to do battle for him??_ When did Luigi have the time to build that?? And—

Mario doesn’t think about it. Mario holds Squirps to his chest and finds another hiding spot.

Finally, in an explosion of robot, the fighting ends.

“Fine, fine!” Luigi calls, and Mario doesn’t turn around, Mario deliberately does not think about how tired, how out of breath Luigi sounds. “I’ll let you off the hook! No more fighting for the rest of today, alright, I’ll just—”

“Admit it, we _totally stomped you,_ ” Bowser says. “So knock off this weird act! You’re freaking me out!”

“Seriously, Luigi,” Peach begins.

“Whatever!” Luigi says. “You won, take your stupid Pure Heart! But _next time,_ things are going to go great for _me._ For _Mr. L!_ ”

And then he’s gone.

Mario still doesn’t start breathing.

“Hey, Mr. Mario—” Squirps whines, and it’s only when they wriggle out of his grasp that Mario really appreciates just how tight he’d been holding them. “What was all that about, huh? Is the bad guy gone? We can go get the Pure Heart now, right?”

Mario isn’t sure how to answer any of that, and doesn’t want to think about how easily Squirps called Luigi _a bad guy,_ like- Like—

“Give him a minute, okay Squirps?” Peach says, and Mario is so, so grateful that she’s here. He looks up from where he’s sitting just long enough to watch Peach walk towards him, gently shoo Squirps along. They scuttle towards Bowser, confused but not protesting, and Peach sighs. “Hey, Mario…” she begins, putting her hand on his back.

Mario says nothing, just rubs his hands up his face, then slowly grabs the brim of his hat and pulls it over his eyes.

Peach doesn’t comment. She just runs her hand down Mario’s back, sitting down with him.

They sit like that, for a few minutes, silent. Mario doesn’t know what’s on Peach’s mind, and doesn’t have the voice to ask at the moment. As for himself, well. He focuses on nothing but Peach’s hand on his back, on the way Bowser tells Squirps to just be wait patiently Or Else, on the way Tippi flutters nervously around his shoulder. He should probably think about Luigi, but he doesn’t want to think about Luigi, doesn’t know _what_ to think about Luigi…

It doesn’t make any sense, and trying to make sense of it just makes his stomach clench into horrible knots.

“Hey,” Peach says, softly, and Mario at least lets go of his hat so maybe she can tell he’s listening. She waits a moment before continuing, anyway, giving him time. “When we were…” She begins, then stops, and reconsiders her words. “Well I got to thinking,” she says, “but there was that girl, with Count Bleck. His assistant, I think? She was at the— _uck_ —wedding, but I don’t know her name… Bowser?”

“Hey, don’t look at me! I was too busy paying attention to how nice you looked in that dress! …Sorry, now isn’t the time, is it.”

Mario laughs, short. He appreciates that. Peach’s sigh borders on a groan.

“Look, whatever her name is,” Peach continues. “At the— _ugh_ —wedding, she… I mean obviously I didn’t want to say _I do_ and marry Bowser, you know? But that girl did something. She did something, and she _made_ me say it, and… I mean, I saw her brainwash some of Bowser’s minions, too, before I got sent away from the castle!”

“Yeah!” Bowser adds, trying to be helpful. “And I _know_ the Koopa Troop. Their loyalties are _iron tight,_ so if _they’re_ attacking _me_? Then something _must_ be going on!”

“So…” Peach says. “Maybe… Maybe she did something to Luigi, too?”

She says it so cautiously, like she’s afraid of how the suggestion will land, afraid of upsetting Mario any further.

But Mario takes a deep breath, runs his hands over his face one last time before dropping them into his lap. That… really is the only explanation there is, huh? And it—it would explain why Luigi didn’t recognize him, why Luigi was acting like _that._ And it’s certainly a more comforting thought than Luigi suddenly hating him now, out of nowhere like that.

Sure, Mario knows, better than anyone, that Luigi’s got a lot of insecurities.

But he knows, better than anyone, that his brother _doesn’t hate him._

“I don’t know if there’s a way to… _undo_ it,” Peach starts, then shakes her head, near violently. “No, there has to be. It’s not like _I’m_ still brainwashed! So we just—as we’re looking for the rest of the Pure Hearts, we’ll keep an eye out for that girl, and _make_ her put Luigi back to normal. Or maybe- maybe there’s another way!”

“We can always try snapping my minions out of it,” Bowser offers, and he’s so much more tolerable, Mario thinks, when he’s actually trying to help.

Mario nods, still wordless. But actually…

“Y… yeah,” he says. It’s a little trembly, his tongue getting stuck on the sounds, but it gets out. Peach keeps rubbing her hand over his back, soothing. “And…” Mario continues, thinking it over. Slowly, he smiles, turning towards Peach.

Peach raises her eyebrows at him, confused. “What?” she asks.

“He’s okay,” Mario says, simple. Well, alright, being brainwashed and not recognizing any of them is pretty far from being totally, one hundred percent _okay,_ but! “He’s alive, I mean. And…”

“We know where he is,” Peach finishes his thought for him, and Mario nods, enthusiastic. Peach echoes his nod, after a moment. “You’re right,” she says. “That _is_ pretty good news.” Maybe she’s just humoring him, but Mario doesn’t think so. “It certainly beats the uncertainty!”

“I don’t know,” Bowser begins, but Peach shoots him a glare like no other and he shuts his mouth.

“Can… we go get the Pure Heart, now?” Squirps hazards asking.

“I said _wait_ ,” Bowser tells them, but…

“Mario?” Peach asks.

Mario nods, and gets to his feet.

“Let’s go.”


End file.
